My Short Story Selected for an Anthology

by Vanna on May 5, 2013

Earlier this year, Holly Lisle (the creator of the writing courses How to Think Sideways and How to Revise Your Novel, which have greatly increased the quality and quantity of my writing ;)) announced a contest for an anthology of short stories, which will showcase the writing of her students.

Naturally, I had to enter and see just how my writing skills stack up against competition. As some of you may know, I never submitted my manuscript for Protector to agents or publishers, deciding to go independent from the start.

Yesterday I found out that my entry, a short story titled Memory Book, was selected for the anthology!

Holly Lisle still has to select the top three winning stories, but just to be featured in the anthology means a lot to me 😉

More info on the story:

Title: Memory Book

Theme of the story: The Adventure of Creating

Story description: An eight-year-old boy will be taken for magical training from his abusive, alcoholic mother who in the act of creating a memory book for him to take along remembers her love for him.

I came up with the idea for the story in about 3 days, following the techniques I learned in the How to Think Sideways course (it might be a bit pricy, but following the course has greatly improved my writing on all levels – from idea generation to final revision, while it also has some great on info self-promotion for authors. And it’s a lot cheaper than an MFA in Creative Writing ;))

The Anthology will be released in July 2013 and I’ll keep you posted on the exact date. I can’t wait!!

About Vanna Smythe:

Vanna Smythe is on a quest to become a (bestselling) fantasy author. She does not, however, mean to quest thus alone. To keep her company along the way, she has enlisted the help of an incredible cast of characters. These characters may be from a different time, a time long ago, a time that never was, but they could all be here today, forming a part of your inner circle of friends.
She hopes you will grow to love them also, because Vanna also needs your help, since a story without a reader is like mist before the sun.
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